Game of Drones: Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles, the sizes of which are as varied as their appearance and fields of application. They are used in numerous civilian areas, but above all are considered the most important war technology since the invention of the atomic bomb. Today's drones are the further development of unmanned balloons, remotely guided weapons, and model airplanes. Taking this historical starting point, the publication concerns itself with the use of drones and their hybrid function as toys, war technology, and an economic factor. As a technology that unifies absolute oppositions, its contradictory nature is demonstrated in all its facets: from a surveillance device to an instrument for resistance and protest, from an animated object in the animistic sense to their use in strategic warfare. The publication also examines future developments, such as questions on transhuman consciousness and artificial intelligence. Based on selected works by international artists, socially relevant issues are negotiated in a new way and discussed from a scientific perspective in a transdisciplinary manner.